The Maine Legislature has an opportunity to give a much-needed boost to municipal Household Hazardous Waste programs. Let’s hope this measure passes, since it is in the best interest of all Mainers. If you ever worry about what to do with your old pesticides, solvents, oil-based paints, drain cleaners, antifreeze, fluorescent light bulbs, or if you pay local taxes, this should interest you. Programs to collect, or permit drop off of all those things that cannot go in the trash have become an essential, but often under-funded, part of municipal services.

When towns lack such programs, or they are too inconvenient, a number of bad things can happen. Hazardous wastes in the home pose a risk of poisoning both children and pets. When these products are put out in the trash they are a threat to municipal trash handlers. If they are simply dumped, they contaminate land, air and water.

In the last decade the number of household hazardous waste collection days held around Maine has risen. This is a good proactive measure to address a need. The numbers of residents participating increases dramatically when these collections are held on a regular basis. Hazardous waste collection programs cost money, however and the host town is required by law to hire professional waste contractors to bulk and transport the materials collected. Participating municipal workers also get paid for their time. There are also costs for publicizing the event. Presently these costs fall on your local government. Last year, Bangor alone put up $33,000 to fund household waste collection. The cost for all 16 communities participating in the Bangor area- regional collection was $76,000.

A bill approved by the Legislature’s Natural Resources Committee, L.D. 1549, would add a fee of 20 cents to each unit of pesticides and each gallon container of paints, lacquers and wood finishes. The fees result in a small increase in the cost of these two products. As those of us who run household waste collection programs know, paints and pesticides together represent a very large part of the hazardous waste volumes created when households empty their sheds.

The household waste bill is expected to raise $500,000 annually. According to the law, 90 percent of the money raised will go directly to municipalities for their household waste programs. That is why this bill will relieve some of the burden that now falls on local taxpayers. In addition, the state will use 5 percent for household hazardous waste for education and the remaining 5 percent for programs that discourage the overuse of pesticides.

Household hazardous waste is not a small matter. A study done by the Resource Economics and Policy Department of the University of Maine at Orono found that Maine households annually dispose of approximately 20 million pounds of hazardous waste. We are only gradually making progress to insure that this waste – which can be flammable, poisonous or even explosive – gets properly handled. The household waste programs need support so that this potentially dangerous material is not tossed out with harmless trash, dumped in the back yard, or down the sewer, or just allowed to pile up.

We learned long ago of the need for household waste collection programs and we have already started to pay for it. LD 1549 should be passed to give state support to the programs and relieve the burden on local taxpayers. At the same time, shifting some of the costs to purchasers and users of the products is only fair and appropriate. In short, the measure deserves the support of all of us who pay local taxes and are concerned about safety in the home as well as air and water quality.

Arthur A. Stockus, PE is director of operations and maintenance in the Public Services Division of the city of Bangor.